How did Native American communities revive Indigenous musical repertories during the 20th century?

During the 20th century, Native American communities employed several strategies to revive and restore their Indigenous musical repertories, often as part of broader movements to reclaim cultural identity and autonomy.12

• Community Gatherings and Powwows: The development and expansion of the powwow served as a vital mechanism for cultural revitalization. Following the suppression of traditional practices in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, homecoming celebrations for veterans after World War I and World War II helped foster a resurgence of intertribal dance and music. These events became central to promoting social unity and maintaining connections to ancestral traditions.31
• Urbanization and Collaboration: Post-World War II relocation programs brought diverse Indigenous peoples into urban centers, sparking a "second wave" of cultural diffusion. This migration encouraged intertribal collaboration, where communities adopted and shared various regional music and dance styles, further strengthening the "powwow circuit".3
• Preservation Initiatives: By the 1950s, formal movements to restore musical repertories were underway. These efforts increasingly emphasized community-based preservation, the use of audio and video recordings to supplement oral tradition, and the repatriation of archival materials to Indigenous communities.145
• Cultural Activism: Organizations such as the American Indian Movement (founded in 1968) explicitly included the revitalization of traditional culture among their core goals, supporting the broader push to protect Indigenous heritage.2